Updated winter fishing report for southeastern Utah

By Sun Advocate

•Benches/Boulger Ponds – Ice has been forming overnight. Depending on daytime temperatures, ponds will sometimes thaw by mid-afternoon, when good fishing with night crawlers or PowerBait has been reported.
•Cleveland Reservoir – “The water level is getting low but some nicer rainbows are being caught with corn PowerBait or wildfire Power Nuggets,” commented Todd Munford of Big Pine Sports in Fairview. “Fishing has generally been slow but the trout being caught are in the 16 inch size class.”
•Cottonwood Creek – (in Straight Canyon below Joes Valley Reservoir) Aquatics Biologist Craig Walker fished this creek again and caught several 16 inch brown trout, rainbows and a cutbow. Many smaller (12-14 inch) fish were also caught. Walker used egg patterns over redds and red wooly buggers in riffles and runs. Salmon eggs and red/gold spinners should also provide an angler with some good action, according to Walker.
•Duck Fork Reservoir – Duck Fork has been replanted with Colorado River cutthroat trout and fingerling tiger trout. Duck Fork regulations will protect the Colorado River cutthroat population for future egg collection and fish transplant operations.
The DWR hopes that this measure will help keep the Colorado River cutthroat from being listed as threatened or endangered. If that were to happen, traditional fishing in southeastern Utah could be dramatically impacted. Tiger trout will provide for sport fishing at this water, beginning late next year.
•Electric Lake – Ice is beginning to form on the north end. Munford reports good fishing near the inlet with a night crawler and salmon egg combination. Float tubers and pontoon boaters have done well with Panther Martin or silver Mepp’s lures.
•Fairview Lakes – The lake level is low, notes Munford. Moss is settling to the bottom. Fly fishing has been fair on sunny days with red crystal buggers. Shoreline fishing has been fair where the two lakes come together in deeper water. Zeke’s Sierra gold or PowerBait are recommended.
•Gooseberry Reservoir – Snow covers the access road.
•Huntington Creek – Banks have been snowy, but good fishing can occur on sunny days with a number 18 griffiths gnat or a 16 female Adams. Nymphing can be fair with lil brassies and hares ears.
•Huntington Reservoir – (above Cleveland Reservoir) Ice has been forming. Munford reports fair to good fishing with a straight night crawler behind a bubble. Munford advises anglers to watch for schools of tiger trout cruising shallow water near the surface.
He recommends casting to the schools with a floating bubble and three feet of leader for some fast action. When no surface activity is observed, anglers should fish the bottom with a full bubble and four feet of leader.
Fisheries Biologist Justin Hart reports that worms or small black flies have been catching nice tiger trout. Some tiger trout are approaching 19-21 inches this fall.
“One of the keys to catching tigers is to use dark-colored flies, lures, and jigs and keep them moving,” Hart said. “The same goes for bait fishermen. Most tigers will strike when the bait is moved.”
•Kens Lake – Conservation officer Vance Mumford said the water level is extremely low, concentrating fish. Night crawlers are recommended.
•Miller Flat Reservoir – Access is becoming difficult with snow on the Miller Flat road.
•Millsite Reservoir – Walker recommends vertically jigging gold Panther Martins by the dam. He reports the larger the lure, the bigger the fish. He caught 14-16 inch rainbow trout with a three-eights ounce lure and some 20-21 inch trout with a larger size.
•Scofield Reservoir – Conservation Officer Stacey Taggart recommends Jake’s spin-a-lures, Rapalas or worms fished about 18 inches off the bottom.
Hart spoke with an angler who caught some 12-14 inch rainbows in shallower waters on the north end using a cutthroat-colored Rapala crank bait.
According to Hart, the yellow and pearl-colored jigs have been producing slow (one 12-16 inch trout per hour) but steady fishing action near the dam. Hart notes that worms under a bobber have been catching 17-19 inch fish on the southeast side.
Todd Munford reports good fishing on the east side using worms tipped with chartreuse marshmallow and orange PowerBait. Munford describes fly fishing as fair from tubes and pontoon boats with sinking line and brown leech patterns, trolled slowly along the east shoreline.